Professor Gail Gillon is a world-leading expert in spoken and written language development. In particular, she studies the critical importance of phonological awareness (the ability to recognise and manipulate sounds within words) in facilitating reading and spelling success. She is an internationally recognised scholar in the area of early speech, language and reading development, and has made a substantial and lasting impact on the discipline of communication sciences and disorders. Her book Phonological Awareness from Research to Practice remains a leading text internationally in this area.